Freezing interest on a credit card

Davidp77

Hi

Was hoping someone would be able to give a bit of advice.

My girlfriend currently owes about £10,000 on credit cards that we are trying to sort out. Her credit rating isn't great so transferring as much as we can to a 0% balance isn't a guaranteed option at the moment. She can only afford at the moment to meet the minimum payments but the interest nearly comes to the same amount so nothing is ever getting paid off.

I have suggested to her after reading a few other threads that it may be possible to write to the credit card companies and ask them to freeze the interest for a while so we can hopefully make some sort of a dent to the debt?

Does anyone know if this is something that they are willing to do if you can show them they you are struggling? Also, would anyone know if this is likely to have any impact on her credit rating? I don't think it should as payments are still being made so when they make their reports to experian etc it should still show as a payment being made.

Would appreciate any advice?

Thanks

Dave

Moggles_2

It would certainly affect her credit rating.

The best solution, if possible, is to vote with her feet. Has she applied for a new card, but been unsuccessful?

Admittedly the best balance transfer deals are usually reserved for new customers, but you don't have to apply for a new card to get new credit. She may be able to reduce her costs using credit cards she already holds. For details, please see Martin's Credit Card Shuffle article.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/cut-credit-card-interest

If she's struggling to pay more than the minimum payments due, why not post a statement of affairs on the *Debt Free Wannabee* board? People may be able to suggest ways of reducing her expenditure and so pay off the debt more quickly.